Categories
Title
Calabai Jangen
Director
Emma Frankland, Tamera PertaminaDate
2021Origin
IndonesiaDescription
Emma’s first collaboration with Indonesian performance artist, Tamarra, was in January 2019, when they travelled together to South Sulawesi to spend time with members of the Bissu community there.
Bissu are often cited as celebrating multiple genders, and held as examples that trans people “have always been here” but spending time with Bissu shamans, being welcomed, tolerated and embraced by them was incredible. There is danger in assuming a universal trans experience - the Bissu have long celebrated multiple gender identities but their history of veneration, persecution and survival is unique. It was a life changing trip and the small group (including Emma’s child Joey) were allowed to witness far more than expected.
Tamarra and Emma made a subsequent shared ritual performance and documentary of the trip named CALABAI JANGEN (literally - Crazy Trans Women) a term of beautiful endearment that was shouted loudly throughout our 10 day road trip!
More Information
This film is part of Queer as Folk/lore, a QAMERAD x Otherness Archive collaborative film programme at Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest 2024. You can find more info about the programme below:
Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest Screening:
QAMERAD X Otherness Archive: Queer as Folk/lore
September 2024
"Fag-smoking behemoths, gender-bending fairies, reincarnated deer, queens of black magic—what’s on the horizon when queer desires reject mere visibility, and instead, manifest through these elusive, mythological characters? As global queer communities face increasing pressure to conform to neoliberal identity politics, these moving images from Indonesia turn back to pre-colonial folklore, escaping current regimes of control, from hetero-patriarchal representations to hegemonic State narratives. Within these works lie promising potential for radical liberation, where queer desires can live mythically and eternally, beyond recognition from society. This programme is curated by Rizky Rahad as part of SHARED CAMERA/DERIE, a QAMERAD x Otherness Archive collaboration supported by the British Council."